Your first self-guided walking holiday in France

How a self-guided holiday works

If you like going at your own pace, it probably suits you. There’s no group to keep up with and no guide to follow: just you, the route, and a good dinner waiting at the end of the day. Our walks go inn to inn: you walk from one hotel to the next and your luggage is moved on for you, so you carry just a daypack and your bags are waiting when you arrive. Most people feel completely at home by day two.

Every itinerary can be shaped around you: add extra nights, take a rest day or start on a different day. Our guide to self-guided or guided holidays compares the two.

Route notes, maps and GPX files on your phone

You’ll have our detailed route notes and maps in digital form, plus GPX files by email for every day, with simple instructions for opening them in a free mapping app, so your phone shows exactly where you are on the route. Download the maps before you set off and they work even where there’s no signal. GPS is hungry for battery, so we recommend bringing a smartphone and a power bank.

Take a wrong turn and you’ll rarely lose more than a few minutes: the GPX track shows the way back, and the notes help you pick up the route again.

Phone and WhatsApp support throughout

You’ll have our phone number throughout your holiday, and we’re on hand from 9am to 7pm, UK or French time, to help with anything, whether it’s a wrong turn, a question about a hotel or a change of plan.

Your luggage

Whenever you change hotel, your bags are taken on for you, so they’re waiting when you arrive, and you walk with just a daypack with water, snacks and a waterproof. Please keep to one bag per person, up to 20 kg, and have it ready at reception by 9am.

Your hotels, booked for you

Every night is booked for you in comfortable, characterful hotels, often family-run, with breakfast every day and dinner on most evenings. Each holiday page lists your hotels night by night, so you can see exactly where you’ll be staying.

How fit do you need to be?

If you enjoy a good day’s walking, you’ll be fine. Each holiday page shows the distance for every day. Most of our walks are moderate, Premium Périgord has the shortest walks, and the Ardèche Adventure is the most demanding, with some long climbs. Our guide How fit do I need to be? gives the daily distances and climbs of every holiday.

As a couple, with friends or on your own

Prices are per person, sharing a double or twin room. If anyone in your group would like a room of their own, for example in a group of three, a single supplement applies for each single room. Solo walkers are very welcome: because the costs aren’t shared, there’s a solo traveller supplement on top of the per-person price. Our guide to solo holidays lists every solo price.

Travel insurance

Travel insurance isn’t a condition of booking a Dordogne Experience holiday, but we strongly recommend it. Choose a policy that covers cancellation, medical costs and the walking or cycling you’ll be doing.

Getting there

Most of our guests fly. From Australia, the USA and further afield, most long-haul flights land at Paris Charles de Gaulle, with connecting flights to Bordeaux or Toulouse. For the Ardèche, fly to Lyon, or take the TGV from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to Valence. Our Getting there page has flights, trains and the last hop to the start of each holiday.

Meeting Cassie

If you book directly with us, Cassie will usually meet up with you during your holiday, for example in Sarlat.

Time zones

We reply within 24 hours, usually much sooner. We’re based in the UK and France, so if you’re in North America or Australia, our reply may arrive overnight.

Questions

Ready to choose a walk?

See our walking holidays, or tell Cassie a little about how you like to walk and she’ll suggest one. We reply within 24 hours, usually much sooner.